Could cultivated pet food redefine the Asia-Pacific market?

Customers in Asia-Pacific’s booming pet industry are hungry for change. With owners seeking premium, sustainable and ethical options, cultivated protein is emerging as one of the most exciting alternatives to using conventionally produced meat in pet food.

Seizing the opportunity

Today, only a small number of companies are fully dedicated to cultivated pet food. According to the Good Food Institute, an organization that promotes plant- and cell-based alternatives to animal products, nearly 300 companies are currently operating in the cultivated meat space. Of those, 46 are headquartered in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

This niche is still in its early stages, but the growth potential is enormous. As a truly novel way of producing pet food, cultivated technologies create a unique opportunity to serve the entire pet spectrum, which extends far beyond cats and dogs to cover a wide range of animals with diverse nutritional needs.

APAC has the potential to play a central role, both as a major consumer market and as a manufacturing power hub. As the broader novel food sector gathers momentum, the next few years will be critical in identifying the most promising markets. The question now is simple: will cultivated pet food stay a niche curiosity or become the next big shift in how owners in the APAC region feed their pets?

The road ahead will be shaped not just by science, but also by regulation, consumer trust and whether companies can scale production to hit the right price point.

Singapore at the forefront

As with cultivated meat for humans, cultivated pet food will most likely have to navigate stringent regulatory approvals. APAC countries including China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore are actively engaging with this emerging sector, although each market is at a different stage of readiness.

In a regional first, Singapore’s Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) granted regulatory approval for a cultivated ingredient in pet food in June 2025. While the frameworks for cultivated pet food will often be similar to that of human food, there will most likely be some clear differences, such as is case in Singapore, where the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) regulates cultivated meat for humans.

For pet food, the AVS uses a different framework, which may account for differences in nutrition, production, labeling and licensing. For instance, pet food regulations emphasize crude fiber, whereas the human food framework measures dietary fiber.

Compared with other jurisdictions, industry players have found Singapore’s process relatively clear and collaborative. This reinforces the city state’s role as a leading testbed for cellular agriculture innovation across both human and pet foods, alongside rigorous evaluation.

Regulatory readiness

Beyond Singapore, several other APAC countries are showing promising signs for the future of cultivated pet food. In Australia and New Zealand, recent regulatory clearances for cultivated meat for human consumption suggest these markets may soon follow suit for pet food. South Korea has a framework in place through the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, while Japan is expected to release an updated regulatory framework by autumn 2025.

Malaysia is conducting an in-depth feasibility study for the cultivated meat industry as a stepping stone to regulatory development, and Thailand already has frameworks in place for human consumption.

Given these active developments, it is highly likely that much of the regulatory groundwork for human foods will extend to cultivated pet foods, making these markets particularly interesting to watch going forward.

Pathways to commercialization

Other APAC countries are likely to start exploring cultivated pet food, but regulatory frameworks and clear guidelines are not yet widely available publicly. Many of them are still in the process of formulating pathways to commercialization. Therefore, companies interested in pursuing cultivated pet food are advised to actively engage directly with the relevant governing entity.

The good news for companies is that much of the regulatory groundwork for cultivated human foods can now support pet food applications, meaning approvals don’t have to start from scratch. In many cases, authorities can adapt existing safety, production and quality frameworks rather than creating entirely new ones.

For example, while pet foods follow slightly different frameworks, these differences are relatively minute, making it comparably less difficult for regulators to assess this branch of food category.

As governments in Asia and elsewhere continue to streamline these processes, companies can expect fewer uncertainties and faster approvals, benefiting both innovators and the growing market for sustainable pet foods.

Consumer acceptance

However, regulatory approval only opens the door. The factor that really decides whether cultivated pet food thrives is consumer acceptance.

Data specific to cultivated pet food in Asia-Pacific is scarce. From a human perspective, however, a 2023 survey by the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture found that 90.4% of South Koreans would be open to trying cultivated meat or seafood products at least once. Notably, 18.9% expressed a preference for cultivated meat over plant-based alternatives.

Price, flavor, texture and nutritional value were identified as the top factors influencing purchase decisions, with over half (56.8%) willing to consume cultivated meat if it were cheaper than its conventional counterpart. The focus on nutritional value aligns with the growing demand for healthier and more sustainable pet food options in the region.

Receptive market for pet food

Interestingly, other studies have indicated that consumers are more inclined to feed cultivated meat to their pets than to eat it themselves. In a study published in mega-journal PLOS One, only 32.5% of respondents indicated they would consume cultivated meat personally, yet 47.3% expressed willingness to feed it to their pets.

Among those willing to eat cultivated meat, the majority (81.4%) were also open to feeding it to their pets. Conversely, even among those unwilling to consume cultivated meat themselves, 36.2% were still willing to feed it to their pets. These findings suggest that consumer attitudes towards the concept of ‘cultivated’ depends on the product type. There may be a greater appetite for cultivated pet food than for equivalent products for human consumption.

Asia-Pacific’s moment

Together, these insights imply a promising landscape for cultivated pet food in the APAC region. By focusing on targeted consumer education and market engagement to foster consumer acceptance and trust, and by ensuring products meet expectations related to price, taste and nutritional quality, companies have an opportunity to tap into a receptive market.

Moreover, companies that succeed in clearing regulatory hurdles and scaling production effectively will be well-positioned to capture significant first-mover advantages, setting the pace for the industry and shaping how cultivated pet food reaches the mainstream. If players in the APAC region seize this opportunity, cultivated meat could move from niche to a core part of how people feed the animals they love.

With these factors in place, the APAC region could become a leader in the adoption of cultivated pet foods, benefiting both pet owners and the broader goal of sustainable, innovative food solutions.